"… I continue to be annoyed by the spotty vocabulary I got with this language."

"Why?"

"Because from what I got, cacti do not in fact talk but are green plant things that just stay stationary and plant-like in a desert."

"They are green plant things that just stay stationary and plant-like in a desert. And they talk."

"Yeah, that did not come with the word. And I'm pretty sure there are non-talking plants that look rather like this back on Earth."

"Okay but now that we've decided Qactuars are in fact fiends can we go?"

"– So long as there aren't any actual cactuars in the stones, I'm pretty sure I'm fine with that?"

"...we kinda did just release at least a few fiends troublesome enough that a summoner decided to seal them."

"… I wasn't particularly sure that actually was us. For the record their heads turn into automated needle firers."

"Is this a priority?"

"Y—" Pause. "...no."

"Unless there are literally thousands. Or something." He looks around. "Which there don't seem to be."

"Fiends aren't corporeal all the time, there could be."

Sigh. "I honestly have no idea what would be best to do here right now and I doubt we opened all the things and so there are probably not many about but Sin is about. Ish. So. Should probably get going and hope we don't come back to a savaging."

"These Qactuars presumably existed before Sin and were not a big enough problem to prevent the existence of Zanarkand and the populational boom so probably."

So off they go.

There are more fiends and by the time they reach the Agency again they're all actually rather exhausted.

Theo less so, fortunately for him.

But he can look at books or something while they rest.

They'll probably sleep, actually.

Rest, sleep, whatever. Theo doesn't really want to sleep right now.

Unless Kaede wants to snuggle or something.

Nah, Kaede and Tidus are sharing a room tonight. Unless Theo would like to join in...

… Theo probably should actually get some reading done because he feels woefully underprepared to help out here, but maybe some other time.

Well, the Agency isn't a library, exactly, but it does have some books.

So he has a look for ones that might be most immediately interesting to him! He knows little about the culture or Yevon or much of the history or typical (non-combat) applications of magic, if there's anything on that…

There are a couple of things on thunder magic in particular and elemental magic in general, as well as some local history of the Thunder Plains.